W.Va. suspect in shooting of 2 deputies killed

CRAIGSVILLE, W.Va. – An 84-year-old West Virginia man who shot and injured two deputies was killed by police Saturday after he emerged from his barricaded house with a weapon, police said.

The death of John Evans outside his central West Virginia home escalated after a 911 call from a neighbor who told police Evans threatened him with a firearm over an unspecified dispute, said Sgt. Michael Baylous, a state police spokesman.

When a Nicholas County deputy arrived at Evans’ house, Evans shot him with a shotgun, Baylous said. The second deputy was shot when he responded to the scene.

Both deputies were airlifted to Charleston for treatment of wounds that are not considered life threatening, Baylous said.

State police units and other law enforcement agencies then responded to Evans’ house, sparking sporadic exchanges of gunfire over several hours.

“He just went through the house shooting at law enforcement,” Baylous said.

Throughout the standoff, Baylous said, police appealed to Evans to surrender and used tear gas to flush him from the house.

“No lines of communication could be established,” he said.

Evans ultimately emerged from a back door of the house with a weapon and was killed, Baylous said.